Waterloo Pool in Denison is closed until further notice, and the city has not set a reopening date. In a notice posted Monday, August 24, the City of Denison said the shutdown followed an evaluation by the Fire Marshal's Office and is tied to structural repairs the building requires. The city called the closure a precaution for patrons and staff.
Denison sits north of Gainesville, up in Texoma. Families who swim at Waterloo now have an open-ended wait and no date to plan around.
City records show the trouble was on the table well before Monday. Parks staff told Denison's Parks Commission by June 20, 2024, that architects and engineers were studying structural-integrity improvements to the Waterloo Pool building, and staff said no construction timeline had been set. Commission minutes from that December record staff describing long-standing problems and a need for significant repairs. Two firms put the cost of bringing the pool to ideal standards at about $4.9 million, according to those minutes.
Denison later narrowed the work to emergency repairs, the minutes show, paid for with $500,000 in certificates of obligation funded through the Aquatics Fund. That scope covered structural-stability reinforcement and an air-exchange system. Staff expected the work to add five to ten years to the pool's life with proper maintenance, the minutes say, and the pool was set to close December 9, 2024, on an initial estimate of three months.
What the fix would cost, and what the city bought
$4.9 million
Two firms' estimate to bring Waterloo Pool up to ideal standards.
$500,000
Certificates of obligation through the Aquatics Fund for structural reinforcement and an air-exchange system, expected to add five to ten years of life.
Source: Denison Parks Commission minutes, December 2024
For a family, the day-to-day cost of a swim is small. Denison's fee schedules show admission rose about a dollar in most categories between last budget year and this one. Across the county line, Gainesville lists a day at the Leonard Park Aquatic Center at $6 for anyone 2 and older. What the city spends is the harder number. Denison's FY2025-2026 budget puts aquatics expenditures at more than twice what its pools take in at the gate, with the bond money for Waterloo repairs carried separately.
Pool gate revenue covers less than half of what aquatics costs
FY2024 actual, FY2025 estimated, FY2026 amended. Waterloo repair bond money is carried separately.
Show the numbers
| Fiscal year | Aquatics expenditures (dollars) | Swimming pool revenue (dollars) |
|---|---|---|
| 2024 | 436,792 | 181,689 |
| 2025 | 548,150 | 200,000 |
| 2026 | 557,182 | 225,000 |
Source: City of Denison FY2025-2026 budget
Other North Texas towns have hit the same wall with older pools. Sherman City Council minutes from June 14, 2018, record that The Splash was found structurally sound after a 2017 renovation, then turned up more than 20 leaks in an April 2018 leak test while losing two to three inches of water a day. Kerrville's official aquatics page currently lists its Olympic Pool closed for renovations, with the project scheduled to be finished by summer 2027.
Texas pool rules set closure and posting requirements for closed pools and for certain operating conditions. Texas Department of State Health Services regulations adopt the 2021 International Swimming Pool and Spa Code for the repair and renovation of commercial pools. The same rules require a closed pool to be barred against unauthorized entry and posted at its gates, and require closure any time water drops below the designed operating level of the rim, gutter or skimmer system.
City records reviewed for this report show the 2024 work was narrowed to emergency repairs sized to buy the building years rather than replace it. Denison has not given a reopening date.
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